‘Most interested man’ faces retirees he stole from at sentencing

An Ocean Springs retirement investor who once dubbed himself “the most interested man on the Coast” tried Wednesday to convince his victims of the remorse he felt when he bilked them out of their retirement savings, but that provided little solace to those without any savings to live on now.

Judge Louis Guirola Jr. on Wednesday sentenced Eduardo Diaz, 58, to 70 months in prison and fined him $15,000 for wire fraud. In addition, the judge ordered Diaz to pay more than $640,000 in restitution to the victims.

Prior to sentencing, the judge heard from Diaz and a few of his victims, among the others who attended the sentencing hearing.

‘Preying’ on victims

“I'm a 70-year-old widow and Mr. Diaz stole $164,000 of my late husband and I's retirement from his retirement and 401K,” one victim said. “He preyed on me at a very sad, vulnerable time of my life.”

The woman said she was caring for her dying husband when a friend recommended Diaz's service. The friend, she said, didn't know Diaz was using some of his client's money on himself because he had not not tampered with her friend's investment account.

She said Diaz preyed on women and widows for years, but came across as a friend you could trust. She said she was trying to make sure the retirement and death benefits from her late husband were invested properly so she would have money for the rest of her life.

“Mr. Diaz, in my opinion, is a liar and a thief and his lifestyle should be reduced to a single jail cell,” she said. “He stole my money, self confidence and peace of mind.”

Another man spoke on behalf of his wife and stepson who lost thousands of dollars in retirement, death and inheritance benefits from her late husband.

Diaz, he said, approached his wife while she was at her late husband's funeral more than seven years ago.

“He sat at my wife's then-husband's funeral and held her hand and said he was his best friend,” he said.

Diaz promised to protect the woman's money, including the inheritance her son received when his father died, but instead Diaz used the money himself.

Another victim who happened to be one of Diaz's relatives, said she and her siblings had forgiven Diaz for the $300,000 he stole from them, but she still wants him to pay the money back. She urged the judge not send him to jail so he could be out there trying to earn money instead to pay them back what he owes.

Diaz pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud.

A federal grand jury had indicted him on four counts of investor fraud and two counts of wire fraud. In exchange for his plea, the remaining charges were dismissed.

According to authorities, Diaz lied about potential investments to encourage his clients to sink money into his firm. In some case, records say, Diaz used clients' money on himself, or to pay other clients' dividends, or to refund or repay previous investors to avoid suspicion.

He also shuffled money around from one account to another to cover up his crime.

In his words

Diaz offered his apologies for what he'd done, and said how his family suffered major damages to five homes during Hurricane Katrina. He said he was going through a hard time trying to pay for all of the expenses to rebuild one of the homes for his parents. He also said he'd had health problems.

He said he always planned to make every victim whole again and still plans to pay them back in full. He was hoping for time under house arrest so he could continue working.

“I don't know why I did this, but I was going to make it right,” Diaz said. “I am completely responsible. I made a decision to do something illegal, something wrong, that I never did in my life.

“ I did something that was so contrary to the way I lived the (previous) 56 years of my life. I'm ashamed of it. I'm devastated by what I've done to my family, my children, my wife, my mom.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette Williams, however, pointed out that Diaz continued to take money from clients’ accounts even after FBI agents first went to him about the crime.

“We have victims losing their homes and Mr. Diaz continues to live in what he admits is a luxurious home.”

Active in the community

Diaz's attorney, William Carl Miller, described him a good man was was active in his community, serving on board for the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art and other boards.

In addition, Miller noted, 38 people had written letters of support for Diaz despite his wrongs.

According to the indictment, Diaz committed the crimes in Harrison and Jackson counties between February 2012 and the date of the Oct. 6 indictment.

Diaz had his first run-in with trouble in the financial industry in April 2014 when the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority disbarred him. According to records in that case, Diaz borrowed money from an Ocean Springs woman and used it on himself.

However, he never admitted any guilt and settled the case.

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 3:31 PM with the headline "‘Most interested man’ faces retirees he stole from at sentencing."